A repeat of last year’s attempt at an IPO by bear bile farmers Guizhentang has once again sparked uproar, fuelled by celebrity involvement, online video of bile being drained from whimpering animals, and the Chinese Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine chairman’s widely mocked portrayal of the farms as a kind of idyllic ursine spa.
In his World View column at Bloomberg, Adam Minter has gathered a range of reactions to the Guizhentang controversy. Between